Ithmaar Bank rolls out biometric ATM network in Bahrain

Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank reports it has successfully launched the region’s first biometrics-enabled cardless Automated Teller Machine network. Bank customers can now use their fingerprint along with their PIN to process financial transactions. The bank recently retrofitted its 43 ATMs with biometric readers following extensive testing.

The initiative was first announced last September when Ithmaar Bank and Eazy Financial Services unveiled partnership plans to launch a biometric payment network. The partnership is financially supported by the Bahrain government’s Tamkeen Labour Fund, and further supported by the country’s Economic Development Board and the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The system runs on Eazy Financial Services’ Automated Fingerprint Identification System which Eazy notes has earned high honors from several standards organizations and authorities for its rigorous identification algorithm.